Related coverage

In a farcical non-finish on the SCG last night, the Sri Lankans were probably deprived of pocketing the five match series 3-1.

It was the fourth match in the series and a likely win by the tourists would have made the fifth and final ODI in Hobart on Wednesday meaningless. Now there is chance that Australia may win in Hobart and tie the series 2-all.

I was at the SCG match yesterday and thought the match abandonment was a joke. There was only about 90 minutes of drizzle and the covers were laid on the pitch promptly.

With the rain stopping and drying procedure going on, I thought it would be a 25 over game with Duckworth Lewis formula deciding the winner.

A surprised Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene said at the press conference that he was disappointed with the ruling that the match be abandoned. He cited recent instances in a match against New Zealand as also in Sri Lanka when a match had continued after heavier rains.

He strongly queried the match abandonment and said that he would take up the matter with match referee Javagal Srinath.

According to Jayawardene, Srinath’s call to call off the ODI robbed his team of a possible chance to finish the series off, having bowled accurately to restrict Australia to 9 for 222.

He expressed surprise that a ground as rich in history and facilities as the SCG could not get the game re-started.

“We played New Zealand three months ago and the interpretation we got in that series was quite different to what we got today,” Jayawardene said.

“We played in Pallekele in Sri Lanka with a lot of rain during the World Cup as well. I think we need to find a bit more consistency, so that’s something we’ll probably write and put across to them [the ICC] and see how we can go about it.

“At the SCG, I would assume that a ground of this magnitude you should be able to get a game in. Maybe they should do what we do back home and cover the entire ground.

“I think we can write to the match referee because the interpretation we got three months ago in the New Zealand series was something totally different”, he added.

“It was deemed that we’d only stop play if it was dangerous, not unfair, but today the interpretation was different. I accept that, it comes from the match referee and the umpires so I’m happy to take that on board, but it was two interpretations we got within a three-month period.”

I remember many years ago in a match on the SCG, a helicopter was used to dry the pitch after a heavier downpour. I cannot remember the year and the opponent. Are any Roarers able to supply this information?

Yesterday’s match should have been continued for a few overs at least. If the playing conditions were all that bad, then the match could have been aborted. In my opinion, not to attempt a restart was wrong.

Kersi Meher-Homji

Kersi is an author of 13 cricket books including The Waugh Twins, Cricket's Great All-rounders,Six Appeal and Nervous Nineties. He writes regularly for Inside Cricket and other publications. He has recently finished his new book on Cricket's Conflicts and Controversies, with a foreword by Greg Chappell.

This video could win $10,000!

It's one of the favourites to take out the Club Roar most popular video award on Monday!

You’re right Kersi. The game should have continued, at least until it became evident the condition of the out field was deemed not fit. I can’t help but think the match officials got it wrong, In the scheme of things, perhaps it was a decision taken more to keep the series alive rather then for the home team to be heading into a meaningless match in Hobart. That’s what it looked like to me, but that’s just my opinion.

As mentioned below, the lightness of the rain along with a lack of wind meant the moisture stayed on the surface instead of sinking in further, making it much more dangerous than it would really appear. Also, if you add the shocking umpire decisions with the fact that Sri Lanka would have needed a little over 100 with 10 wickets, than it was almost a guaranteed win for Sri Lanka. Thus your comment on keeping the series allive by not just giving the game to Sri Lanka might be right. I also find it slightly ironic that Sri Lanka are complaining when they were the ones who wanted to leave the field in the first place.

Good point. The park cricketers, without lights & multi-million dollar drying equipment, get on far quicker than the pampered professionals. What happened last night wasn’t fair on the people who paid top dollar to attend the game.

Absolutely farcical that the match was not restarted. Abandoned due to a wet outfield? Come on – if the pitch is dry, a bit of dampness in the outfield is not a strong enough reason to call the match off. Spectators have paid their money, a prime time TV audience is there – put the game on! But you’ll never hear any criticism of the SCG and its ground staff, who appear to be untouchable!
—
Comment left via The Roar’s iPhone app. Download it now [http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/the-roar/id327174726?mt=8].

PP VII,
Perhaps the reason Mahela Jayawardene walked off quickly when it started to rain was because he wanted the covers to be placed on the pitch ASAP. That way, the pitch would remain as dry as possible.
But it backfired.